Atkins Park Tavern — Restaurant in Smyrna

The good: the food is always great. Flavors on point. Interesting and modern takes on classic dishes. Things are generally well-cooked. Vibes of the restaurant are great. Prices are not low but also not outrageous considering they actually seem to put effort into what they put out.

The bad: The above mentioned things are not a constant. About 85% of the time you will have a wonderful experience, a great meal, and a good time. But that other 15%? Oh man, if you’re unlucky enough to land there on one of those nights? You’re in for a RIDE. I don’t know why it happens or what the exact reasoning is behind it. Maybe it’s who’s on the clock at those times, maybe it’s a random fluke, I truly don’t know. But if you’re there in that 15% window, there’s a solid chance that EVERYTHING will go wrong. Rude staff that is poorly trained in both customer service and what’s actually even on the menu they are serving (was once argued with by a server about a sauce I often get there on the side not being a sauce and actually being a seasoning only for her to return and tell me I was right). That same server, when I ordered another dish that is on the menu told me they didn’t have that and I pointed to it on the menu and she walked away and then came back and said “oh we actually do have it”. I mean, yeah, I just showed it to you on the menu. It’s not like I came in here and started making up dishes. You have a menu. I’m not a Karen, I understand that people may be new or training and don’t have the menu memorized, that’s fine. It happens. We’re all human and have all fumbled when starting a new gig. The difference is simply saying “hey I’m sorry about that, I’m new here and still getting things down.” or getting defensive and ARGUING with the customer when it’s clear you are incorrect. I’m not upset with people not knowing the place like the back of their hand yet, I’m upset with their attitudes about that.

During these times your food will often be cold. I don’t mean “it’s been sitting on the line for a few minutes waiting for expo to move it”. I mean COLD. Like, “did yall literally have this in the fridge?” cold.

I have had more good experiences than bad here, there is absolutely zero question in that regard. On a good day (which IS most days for them), this is a Top 5 spot in Smyrna. Period. But those bad times are so bad it legitimately tilts the scale and makes me question going sometimes. When they opened, it was ALL good days. And I know that any place will have ups and downs. But it is undeniable that over time, that “bad times” percentage has been creeping up ever so slightly year-by-year and that worries me. This place could be the BEST spot in Smyrna. It wouldn’t even be hard. They have the vibes, they have the menu, they have the location. It’s a perfect storm. They just really need to buckle down and patch up the ship they are navigating that storm with because it’s obvious it’s taken some damage and that damage is...

When my wife and I put an offer on the house that would become our first home, we celebrated right down the street at Atkins Park. When we both got job promotions, we celebrated with drinks at Atkins Park. When family came to town and we wanted to take them somewhere local that we enjoyed, we took them to Atkins Park. It was our default.

So, when it came to our wedding rehearsal dinner, Atkins Park was the obvious choice. Unfortunately, it would also be the last time we stepped foot in the restaurant.

The event coordinator (Michelle) was unorganized and unprofessional from the very beginning. When I asked for a good time to stop by and discuss the pertinent details, she insisted on coordinating via email. When the date, time, party size, menu, etc was finalized, she stopped responding altogether. When I followed up with her to see if there was anything else she required from us, she did not respond.

Finally, my wife emailed her and Michelle responded to say she didn't have ANY details and that WE had been unresponsive. My wife called the restaurant to clear up any miscommunication and was placed on hold by the hostess. Unfortunately, before Michelle picked up the receiver to answer, she asked the hostess who was on the phone. The hostess told Michelle my wife's name and Michelle responded, "What does SHE want?! I JUST talked to her!!" I immediately fired up the laptop and began looking for alternative locations, but nowhere had the ability to our party on such short notice.

We still had high hopes for the night of the dinner, however this would also end in disappointment. The dining room waitstaff seemed completely disinterested. The pre-dinner drink order alone took so long that our guests, who had been looking into the empty dining room, started asking, "Why is this taking so long? Is it normally this slow?" We didn't know what to say. We'd been talking the restaurant up to our families as somewhere that we loved and, in turn, were treated like a burden from the time we started corresponding with Michelle until the check was paid.

We live within walking distance of the place. It was our usual choice for a quick drink after work or a random night out for dinner. And now, whenever we pass by, we both shake our heads and say how disappointed we were by the experience and what a bummer it is that we won't be going back.

(The rehearsal dinner was in early December 2021. I had avoided writing any kind of review at the time because I was so utterly frustrated, that I knew objectivity would be difficult. I've also been wary of hammering a restaurant given the extraordinary difficulties the industry has been facing over the last two years, but I feel it would be irresponsible to not let folks know to not entrust Atkins Park with any meaningful events,...

I literally have never written a review, because I know having worked in customer service that every experience is different and overall people just have bad days. However, when I give an establishment a great recommendation and someone takes it and not only do I look bad, but I also take it to heart that their experience was frustrating. Which is exactly what happened to my adopted younger sister the night BEFORE her WEDDING at the rehearsal dinner. Not only had they forgotten because they changed personnel several times between when it was originally scheduled and the actual date of the event, but even after I confirmed over the phone the morning of the event the menu for the evening, and was told everything was great we arrived to the incorrect menu. To their credit they did allow the misprint to be included for the same price which we appreciated, and they had done a lovely job of setting up flowers and greenery. Nevertheless, we were greeted with an extremely sarcastic waiter who was in no mood for our joyous occasion. Not to mention we only had one waiter for 24 persons. When asked about the menu misprint he quickly told me I was wrong and he knew it was right because it was in the contract. He acted as though I was ignorant; he was wrong- on both accounts. It took well over an hour to take our food order which occurred BEFORE he took our drink order which we had to ASK him to do, even longer to get rolling on asking for appetizers and entrees, we had to ask for bread baskets a few times that finally came out cold, and when we finally got apps served, they were not the normal quality I'm used to from any experience I've ever had. The staff was short with responses, and although Mikaela was on hand as manager, and she did come when we had a complaint, it almost felt like anyone could have cared less.

It was extremely frustrating and so many people in the party were disappointed and it really put a damper on our evening especially those on the planning side that drove from out of town to spend this special time with our loved ones. Meals are supposed to bring people together and if we had wanted to stress and worry and have indigestion over a meal we could have made it ourselves. The staff did try and make the evening better after our complaints, but why, why did we even have to spend 1.5 hours frustrated and complaining before things started to turn around. I DO NOT suggest anyone having a wedding party or large event of any kind eating here- if you want an Atkins experience go to Virginia...